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Show EDITORIAL: Surveying A Nation's Wealth Secretary of the Interior J. A. Krug has asked the President to support a $100,000,000 national resource survey of the nation. Mr. Krug is particularly anxious to find out exactly what lies under un-der the ground in the way of mineral resources to find out what is hidden within the good American earth for national security se-curity reasons. And the President, Presi-dent, it is believed, fully appreciative appre-ciative of the need for such a Gargantuan undertaking, is ready to back the Krug proposal. Repeated warnings, echoes of admonitions voiced during the adventurous years of 1917-18, were heard during World War II, calling attention to the fact that the conflict was draining the country of its most vital mineral deposits. Now comes Secretary Krug with a statement which foreshadows foreshad-ows serious consequences if the nation fails to heed the counsel of 29 years, and the still more forceful warnings of today. Says Mr. Krug: "War needs used up much of the best coking coal, drew heavily on oil reserves, consumed con-sumed much natural gas, ate into the best iron ore and depleted limited known reserves of copper, cop-per, lead and zinc." . So the Interior chief asks for $100,000,000 to find out what is inside of the earth that the na tion might use, necessity requiring. requir-ing. He estimates that such a survey sur-vey would exact 20 years of the country's time too bad it wasn't completed 20 years ago. Krug's plea is not a lone cry in the wilderness. Thousands there are who see eye to eye with him, and thousands more there are who would raise their voices with his if they would but pause and reflect upon a situation situa-tion that is becoming graver each day. The only shortcoming in the Krug request is that it does not go far enough. For the resources of a nation are found not only beneath the earth's surface, but upon it and in the waters that cover much of its land areas. There are the forests and the inhabitants of the forests to be considered in a true, appraisal of a country's resources. There is top soil, that brawn and bone of the world, to be surveyed, and there is water, which uncontroll-; uncontroll-; ed, can tear the bone and sinew apart or nurtured by man can 'make of the top soil man's everlasting ever-lasting benefactor. I If, therefore, the nation contemplates con-templates a natural resource survey, sur-vey, let it check, map and catalogue cata-logue all its resources those on the surface of the earth and those beneath it. Only then can that nation's strength be determined. |